grivas method - textalk · 18. th e middlegame; euwe / kramer; hays publications 1999 19. wikipedia...

Efstratios Grivas

GRIVAS METHODMIDDLEGAME STRATEGIES

ChessEvolution

Cover designerPiotr Pielach

Typesettingi-Press ‹www.i-press.pl›

First edition 2017 by Chess Evolution

Grivas method. Middlegame strategiesCopyright © 2017 Chess Evolution

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN 978-615-5793-00-4

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Printed in Hungary

KEY TO SYMBOLS .........................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................7

EDITORIAL PREFACE ................................................................................................ 9

BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................11

SURVEYS ON MIDDLEGAME STRATEGY ....................................................... 13A Backward Problem ....................................................................................................13Domination .................................................................................................................. 20Initiative .........................................................................................................................30Preparation ................................................................................................................... 40Queen Exchange ...........................................................................................................47Th e Bad Bishop ............................................................................................................. 57Th e Capablanca Manoeuvre ...................................................................................... 66Th e Forepost ..................................................................................................................79Th e Hungarian Knight-Tour .....................................................................................100Th e Royal Centre ........................................................................................................ 105Th e Superfl uous Knight .............................................................................................. 113Weak Square .................................................................................................................125Th e buried bishop ........................................................................................................152Underdevelopment ......................................................................................................174Unfortunate bishop .................................................................................................... 188

SURVEYS ON TACTICS ........................................................................................... 195Attack via the Edge Files ........................................................................................... 195Boden’s Mate ............................................................................................................... 212Castled Death .............................................................................................................. 217Fierce Queen ................................................................................................................ 225Lethal Diagonals ..........................................................................................................231Long-term Sacrifi ces .................................................................................................. 238New York Queen Sac ...................................................................................................251Th e G-point Check ..................................................................................................... 255Th e Pony Express ........................................................................................................ 259Th e Smothered Mate ..................................................................................................265Twin Games ................................................................................................................ 280

CURRICULUM VITAE............................................................................................ 299

TABLE OF CONTENTS

= Equality or equal chances White has a slight advantage Black has a slight advantage White is better Black is better+- White has a decisive advantage-+ Black has a decisive advantage unclear with compensation with counterplay with initiative with an attack with the idea only move

N novelty! a good move!! an excellent move? a weak move?? a blunder!? an interesing move?! a dubious move+ check# mate

KEY TO SYMBOLS

Dear Reader,

A responsible chess trainer is ‘destined’ to analyse, prepare and teach his/her trainees the plain truth and the diffi cult paths to chess excellence. Well, this is easier said than done, but of course nothing is really as diffi cult as it some-times appears.

When the responsible trainer knows what to do and how to do it, things get simpler and can be more easily absorbed by the trainee! And from time-to-time the responsible trainer should reveal his work and his ways of teaching.

Th e book that you are holding in your hands is a kind of continuation of my previous work named ‘Chess Analytics’ (English language — Russell Enter-prises Inc, 2012); a work that was also translated into Italian and Spanish. Th e basic concept is simple but quite eff ective: various sur-veys on all aspects of the game, covering and explaining unrevealed or poorly explained ideas and paths.

In the present book by ‘Chess Evolution’, a total of 40 concepts are deeply analysed. Well, noth-ing really too diffi cult, as the modern author has at his disposal powerful databases, tablebases, analysed material, books and — by adding his knowledge — you will get what you are looking for!

Today we have shorter time-controls and there isn’t really enough time to dig into the subtleties of each ending. You have to know and to repeat knowledge; don’t be carried away by the usual myth of the ‘chess talent’. As I have repeat-edly written and proved, ‘talent is the excuse of the failed’.

‘Unfortunately’, the modern chess player is entitled and forced to work more than his predeces-sors. Th e modern chess trainer also needs to prepare more delicate themes, understand them and then teach them to his students. So, there is plenty of room for everything and for everybody who is thirsty for knowledge.

Knowledge is the key word. And knowledge is absorbed sub-consciously; it is impossible to re-member everything you study. So, it is highly important to

INTRODUCTION

work with good material and good trainers in order to improve towards the Chess Olympus.

Nowadays the help of the Silicon Monster (chess analysis engines) is quite valu-able, as it can save an author countless hours of analysis and checking. But still the role of the qualifi ed trainer remains important; he knows where the truth is — he knows what to keep and what to throw away…

I do not want to hold a ‘high nose’ and claim that everything I have written is perfect and completely sound; I always think of the surprise factor and I just try to write honestly and with responsibility.

Have a nice reading journey!

Efstratios GrivasAthens, 2017

For a chess book to be instructive and informative, it would help a lot if these factors are present; that the author possesses the gift , the passion and love for the game and at one point in time, he is or was a competitive chessplayer - pref-erably a grandmaster. And it would also be to his advantage if he has previous experience in writing, and is or was actively involved in training and conduct-ing chess seminars and lectures.

All of these elements are wonderful of course, but more is required from the author to ensure success. He must work hard in collating pertinent chess ma-terials to substantiate his thoughts and ideas. In order to best illustrate and appreciate the theme that he is introducing, the author needs to compile in-structive games of the great masters or from average players. Even better is for the author to include those games he won and lost - as long as it pertains to the subject being tackled. As the saying goes, it is the player himself who knows best about the intricacies and turn of events that occurred in his games.

It is benefi cial to provide a ‘label or name’ to the motifs the author is presenting, in order to help the reader recall the concept when it appears in his own actual games. Appropriate title descriptions of concepts is a good guide for readers to better understand its objective and how to achieve it. Likewise, providing a ‘conclusion’ at the end of each method is crucial in aiding the reader to com-pletely discern what the author is trying to transmit and to impart.

Th e author becomes eff ective when he is not stingy in sharing his ideas. He must have a child-like attitude wherein he is very eager, proud and generous in passing on to the readers all his knowledge and understanding accumulated through many years of competing. And it would be impressive if he is also ex-perienced in chess writing and teaching.

Most authors are focused on emphasizing the importance of knowing and un-derstanding basic and general principles to achieve success. However, readers must be constantly reminded and enlightened that exceptions to the rules or out of the box concepts are essential as well. A good example here is the ‘Th e Bad Bishop’ perception which Efstratios propounds in his excellent book ‘Gri-vas Method - Middlegame Strategies’.

EDITORIAL PREFACE

When all these ingredients mentioned above are present - and you augment it with spicy tidbits about great players, composers, anecdotes, recollections, puzzles, memorable events etc. - then a complete recipe for a good, yummy and worth-reading chess book is served. And this book is it.

Eugene Torre, 2017

1. Advanced Chess School: Volumes 1-8; Efstratios Grivas; FIDE 2014-20172. British Chess Magazine; Various Contributors; BCM 1987-20173. Chess Analytics: Training with a Grandmaster; Efstratios Grivas; Russel

Enterprises 20124. Chess College 1: Strategy; Efstratios Grivas; Gambit 20065. Chess College 2: Pawn Play; Efstratios Grivas; Gambit 20066. Chess College 3: Technique; Efstratios Grivas; Gambit 20067. Chess Curiosities; Tim Krabbe; Allen & Unwin Ltd 19858. Chess Expertise Step by Step. Volume 1: Unexpected Tactics; Efstratios

Grivas; Chessbase 20119. Chess Expertise Step by Step. Volume 2: Mastering Strategy; Efstratios Gri-

vas; Chessbase 201110. Chess for Tigers; Simon Webb; Oxford University Press 197811. Chess Today (Internet Newspaper); Alexander Baburin; 2006-201712. ChessBase Mega Database; Various Contributors; ChessBase 201713. Informator; Various Contributors; Informator 1966-201714. Learn from the Legends; Mihail Marin; Quality Chess 200415. My System; Aaron Nimzowitsch; Hays Publications 199116. New In Chess (Magazine & Yearbook); Various Contributors; Interchess

BV 1984-201717. Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy; John Watson; Gambit 199818. Th e Middlegame; Euwe / Kramer; Hays Publications 199919. Wikipedia — Various Articles; Wikipedia 2017

Th e above sources were my main help and guide while writing this book. I would like to thank the (rest) of the authors for their contributions to chess literature and the chance they gave to all chess players to become better. Wiki-pedia was quite helpful too!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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A BACKWARD PROBLEM

Modern backward pawns are not con-sidered as bad as, let’s say, 30 years ago. Modern approaches and meth-ods are very much concerned with the so-called ‘activity’ measure.

As long as the possessor of a back-ward pawn can preserve an elastic and potentially- active position, his defi cit is not that important, as the opposing side cannot ‘concentrate’ on it.

A good strategy is to exchange pie-ces, preserving only those that could be useful in pressuring the backward pawn. In this case, the backward pawn side will hardly fi nd any activ-ity, while passivity is something that they will have to live with!

Well, this of course doesn’t guaran-tee a win, but mostly a pleasant, non-dangerous, middlegame or endgame.

Let’s examine some cases with a backward black d-pawn:

▷ Karpov Anatoly ▶ Gheorghiu FlorinMoscow 1977

1.c4 c5 2.f3 f6 3.c3 e6 4.g3 b6 5.g2 b7 6.0-0 e7 7.d4 cxd4 8.xd4 d6 9.b3 0-0 10.d1 bd7 11.b2 a6

8r+-wq-trk++l+nvlpzpppzp-zppsn-++-+-+-+--+PwQ-+-++PsN-+NzP-PvL-+PzPLzPtR-+R+-mK-

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12.e3!?An interesting set-up. White plans

to play d4 and then get his queen on the diagonal.

12...b8Not bad, but more ‘logical’ is 12...c7

13.d4 xg2 14.xg2 fe8 15.g1 f8 16.ac1 ac8 17.e4 xe4 18.xe4 b8 19.a4+= Timman,J-Lobron,E Brussels 1992.

SURVEYS ON MIDDLEGAME STRATEGY

14 GRIVAS METHOD: MIDDLEGAME STRATEGIES

strona 14

13.d4 xg213...e5 14.h3 xg2 15.xg2 b7+

16.g1 ab8 17.ac1 fe8, as in Anelli,A-Szmetan,J Buenos Aires 1978, seems to be more accurate.

14.xg2 b7+Th e text allows White a pleasant

endgame and I feel that Black should go for something like 14...e5 15.f3 b7 16.d2 fd8 17.e4 d5 18.exd5 exd5 19.e2+= Rubinetti,J-Szmetan,J Quilmes 1980.

15.f3! xf3+ 16.xf3 fc8 17.d4 ab8 18.ac1

8-trr+-+k++-+nvlpzpppzp-zppsn-++-+-+-+--+PsN-+-++PsN-+-zP-PvL-+PzPKzP+-tRR+-+-

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Exchanging queens simply means that there will be less tactics on the board, which emphasises permanent weaknesses, such as the backward black d-pawn. Of course White has just a slight (but nearly permanent) advantage, and Black is fairly still in the game.

18...h6 19.e4 e8?!A passive retreat. 19...e5 is more to

the point.

20.f4 f6 21.f3 b7Logical was 21...f8! when White

should avoid 22.e5? dxe5 23.xe6+ e7

22.a3! bc7 23.ce2!Time for regrouping!

23...c5 24.d2 g6 25.c2 g7 26.e3!

Th e direct 26.g4?! fails to 26...g5!=

8-+r+n+k++-tr-+pvl-pzp-zpp+pzp+-sn-+-+--+P+PzP-+vLP+-sNKzP-P+-tRN+-zP+-tR-+-+-

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26...f5?!Th e text doesn’t add anything to

Black’s cause. More logical was 26...b5 27.h3 h5 28.g4 hxg4+ 29.hxg4+=

27.exf5 gxf5 28.h3! h5 29.g1!Preparing an assault on the kingside.

29...f7Another passive approach. Black

needs to become active, so 29...b5 was essential: 30.g4 hxg4+ 31.hxg4 fxg4+ 32.xg4 bxc4 33.bxc4+=

30.g4! hxg4+ 31.hxg4 fxg4+ 32.xg4 f8 33.g3

SURVEYS ON MIDDLEGAME STRATEGY 15

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8-+r+nmk-++-+-+rvl-pzp-zpp+-++-sn-+-+--+P+-zPR+vLP+-sNKsN-P+-tR-+-++-+-+-+-

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33...a533...e7!? looked better and surpris-

ingly allows Black to stay in the game: 34.g6 f6 35.xf6 xf6 36.b4 (36.ef5+!? exf5 37.xf5+ f8 38.xd6 f7 39.xg7 xg7 40.xb6+=) 36...cd7 37.b5 e8 (37...c5 38.e2 f7 39.f5+=) 38.e4 c5 39.xc5 dxc5 40.e2+=

34.g6 e7?! 8-+r+n+-++-+-mkrvl--zp-zpp+R+zp-sn-+-+--+P+-zP-+vLP+-sNKsN-P+-tR-+-++-+-+-+-

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But this is really bad. Also unsatis-factory was 34...f6?! 35.xg7! xg7 (35...xg7 36.xd6) 36.h5+ g6 37.xf6 xf6 38.h2 or 34...c3?! 35.d1 (35.h2 c7 36.f5) 35...e7 36.xc5 dxc5 37.e4 d4 38.f5 but good was 34...e5! 35.gf5 g7! 36.fxe5 xf5 37.e2+=

35.f5! f635...exf5 loses to 36.d5+ d8

37.xb6.

36.xf6 xf6 37.e2! f8?! Although not pleasant, Black had to

opt for 37...e5 38.xc5 bxc5 39.h2 a4 40.e4

8-+-+-tr-++-+-mk-vl--zp-zppsn-+zp-sn-+P+--+P+-+-+vLP+-sNKsN-P+-+R+-++-+-+-+-

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38.xc5!Decisive, and better than 38.fxe6?! xe6 39.ef5+ d7 40.xe6 xe6 41.xg7+ d7 42.7f5

38...bxc538...dxc5 39.fxe6 g8+ 40.ef5+ e8 41.e7+-

39.fxe6 xe639...g8+ 40.ef5+ e8 41.e7 f6

42.e4+-

40.ef5+ e4 41.xe4Of course bad was 41.xe4? xf5+ 42.g4 e5= but 41.xe4+ e5 42.e2 xf5+ 43.xf5 xf5 44.e3+- was also winning.

1-0


strona 16

▷ Suba Mihai ▶ Nicholson JohnMalaga 2001

1.c4 f6 2.f3 c5 3.c3 e6 4.g3 b6 5.g2 b7 6.0-0 e7 7.d4 cxd4 8.xd4 d6

8rsn-wqk+-trzpl+-vlpzpp-zp-zppsn-++-+-+-+--+PwQ-+-++-sN-+NzP-PzP-+PzPLzPtR-vL-+RmK-

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A well-known position in the popu-lar ‘Hedgehog’ set-up.

9.g5In general I like White’s potential

set-up. Exchanges that will support the centre and avoid a future ...b5 or ...d5 advances.

9...a6 10.xf6 xf6 11.d311.f4 was chosen by M.Carlsen:

11...0-0 12. fd1 e7 13.e4 xe4 14.xe4 a7 15.d4+= Carlsen,M-Gashimov,V Wijk aan Zee 2012.

11...a7 12.ad1 e7 13.d4Another idea is 13.e4 0-0

14.e3 a8 15.d2 d7 16. fd1+= Korchnoi,V-Atlas,V Ptuj 1995.

13...xg2 14.xg2 c8

8-snq+k+-trtr-+-vlpzpppzp-zpp+-++-+-+-+--+PsN-+-++-sNQ+-zP-PzP-+PzPKzP+-+R+R+-

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15.f4A quite interesting idea, aiming

at weakening e6 or gaining the d5-square.

15...c615...c7?! fails to 16.f5! e5 (16...c6

17.xc6 xc6 18.fxe6 fxe6 19.e4) 17.b3 xc4 18.d5 d8 19.f6 Nikolic,P-Ribli,Z Novi Sad 1982.

16.f3 0-0 17.xc6 xc6 18.f5 c7 19.b3

8-+-+-trk++-tr-vlpzpppzpqzpp+-++-+-+P+--+P+-+-++PsNQ+RzP-P+-+P+KzP+-+R+-+-

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19...b7Worse is 19...d8?! 20.fxe6 fxe6

21.e3 d5 22.cxd5 exd5 23.b4! (23.d3?! d4 24.e4 b5 Freisler,P-


i-Press › 2017-11-11 19:26 › strona 17

Panchenko,A Berlin 1991) 23...cd7 24.xd5

20.a4White must stop ...b5.

20...bb8 21.e3 be8?A faulty tactical ‘solution’. Th e alter-

native was 21...d7 22.h4+=

22.fxe6 f6 23.e4White gets the advantage anyway,

but he should seriously consider here: 23.exf7+ xf7 24.f4 or 23.d5 xe6 24.xb6 xe2+ 25.f2 xf2+ 26.xf2

23...xe4 24.xe4 xe6 25.xf6+ gxf6 26.f2

8-+-+-trk++-+-+p+ppzp-zprzp-++-+-+-+-P+P+-+-++P+-+RzP--+-+PmK-zP+-+R+-+-

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a b c d e f g h

White has much the better ending, as Black is full of weak pawns.

26...fe8 27.d2 f8 28.fd3 e7 29.d5! g8 30.a5

Creating a further weakness!

30...b8 31.2d3 e5Black couldn’t stand the passive 31...

bxa5 32.xa5 a8

32.xd6 xa5 33.d7+ e6?!Black doesn’t like passivity, but

sometimes it is the only solution. Black had to opt for 33...f8 34.d8+ (34.a7 g7 35.dd7 f8 36.db7) 34...xd8 35.xd8+ e7 36.b8 f5+ 37.e3 b5 38.b7+ e8 39.a7

34.a7Even better was 34.g4! c5 35.3d6+ e5 36.f3+-

34...a2?!34... f5+ 35.e3 e5+ 36.d2 a5

37.ad7, was the only chance.

35.e3+!Winning material.

35...f5 36.xf7 g6 37.ee7 b2 38.g7+ f5

8-tr-+-+-++-+-tR-tRppzp-+-zp-++-+-+k+--+P+-+-++P+-+-zP--tr-+PmK-zP+-+-+-+-

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39.f3!And a mating net is created!

39...xb3+ 40.e3 h5 41.h3 1-0


strona 18

▷ Tiviakov Sergei ▶ Anand ViswanathanBaden Baden 2012

1.e4 c5 2.f3 d6 3.b5+ d7 4.d4 cxd4 5.xd4 a6 6.xd7+ xd7 7.c4 e5 8.d3 h6 9.c3 f6 10.0-0 e7 11.a4

Also possible is 11.d1 c8 12.b3 c6 13.a4 0-0 14.a3+= Fressinet,L-Kolbus,D Germany 2007.

8r+-wqk+-tr+p+lvlpzp-p+-zp-sn-zp+-+-zp-+-P+P+P+-++-sNQ+N+--zP-+-zPPzPtR-vL-+RmK-

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11...b6A highly dubious choice according

to S.Tiviakov.

12.b3 a7Another try is 12...c6 13.a3 a7

14.d5 xd5 15.cxd5 d7 16.d2 b5 17.axb5 xb5 18.c4+= Gdanski,J-Koch,J Arnhem 1987.

13.d1 c8 14.a3 d7 A backward pawn position — typi-

cal of the ‘Sicilian Defence’ — is on the board. But this is quite unpleas-ant for Black, and while he is in no immediate danger, nor does he have any active prospects.

8-+lwqk+-tr+-+rvlpzp-pzp-zp-sn-zp+-+-zp-+-P+P+P+-+vLPsNQ+N+--+-+-zPPzPtR-+R+-mK-

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15.d2White is heading his knight to d5

(d2-f1-e3); typical of such pawn structures.

15...0-0 16.f1 b7 17.e3 e8 18.cd5 xd5 19.xd5 xd5 20.xd5

8-+-wqr+k++-+rvlpzp-pzp-zp-+-zp+-+Qzp-+-P+P+P+-+vLP+-+-+--+-+-zPPzPtR-+R+-mK-

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White has exchanged many pieces, but the ones left are all quite useful to him, so he holds a nice advantage.

20...a8 21.xa8 xa8 22.d5 f6 23.ad1 ad8 24.g3!

Another typical idea in such posi-tions. White cannot win by just press-ing one weakness; Black will defend it. He needs to create further weak-


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nesses in other part of the board and start moving his pieces around them. Th is is what we call the ‘Rule of the Two Weaknesses’!

24...g5 25.f4 8-+-tr-+k++-+rvl-+-pzp-zp-zp-zp+-+Rzp-zp-P+P+PzP-+vLP+-+-zP--+-+-+-zP+-+R+-mK-

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25...gxf4?Black’s last not only doesn’t solve

any of his problems, but it opens up the g-fi le for White. Black’s serious lack of space and mobility means that he cannot switch from one side to the next as quickly as his opponent. Had he left it to White to exchange, then it would have been the f-fi le opened, and it would be far easier to keep con-trol of both.

26.gxf4 f7 27.f2 exf4 28.f3 e6 8-+-tr-+-++-+rvl-+-pzp-zpkzp-zp+-+R+-+-P+P+Pzp-+vLP+-+K+--+-+-+-zP+-+R+-+-

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29.c1!Th e bishop will attack both d6 and

h6 from the excellent f4-square.

29...c8 30.xf4 f8 31.h4!Another excellent and typical idea.

Targets must be fi xed, so will h6! Also, a strong outpost will be created on g6.

31...c6 32.h5 b7 33.e3 b8 34.d4 c7 35.g1 g7 36.g6 f7 37.e3

And White wins material...

37...d7? 8-tr-+-+-++-+r+-vl-pzp-zpkzpRzp+-+R+-+PP+P+P+-++P+-vLK+--+-+-+-++-+-+-+-

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Missing a shot that White also missed with the time-control ap-proaching.

38.f5?!Th e spectacular 38.e5! would have

won on the spot, but fortunately for the Dutch GM, this does not squander the win: 38...f7 (38...dxe5 39.xd7 xd7 40.xg7++-) 39.exf6 f8 (39...xf6? 40.f5!) 40.xh6 and the end is near.

38... f7 39.g4 f8 40.xh6 xh6 41.xh6 g7+ 42.f4!


strona 20

42.g6? would be a blunder: 42...xg6+ 43.hxg6 g8 44.h5 h8+ 45.g4 g8=

42...f8 43.a5!Opening up further weaknesses to

overwhelm Black’s pieces.

43...g143...bxa5 is no help: 44.e5! dxe5+

45.xe5+! f7 46.f5! e6 47.xa5 a8 48.e5+ f7 49.f5+-

44.axb6 b1 45.b7 xb3 8-+-+-tr-++P+-+-+-p+-zpkzp-tR+-+-+R+P-+P+PmK-++r+-+-+--+-+-+-++-+-+-+-

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46.e5! dxe5+ 47.xe5+ d6 48.f5 e6 49.h7 d8 50.d5!

Black resigned due to 50...xd5 51.cxd5+ xd5 52.f5 c6 53.h6.

1-0

CONCLUSION

Selective exchanges help the pressure against a backward pawn. Its posses-sor should certainly try to avoid them.

DOMINATION

Chess is a game of domination. From our very fi rst moves we try to domi-nate the opponent, the development, the centre, the pieces’ placement and so on.

We try to get better positions than our opponent and in the end to cash in the full point by precise, dominat-ing play.

Complete domination means that we can nearly do what we like and that our opponent is helpless, no mat-ter how hard he is trying!

Well, that’s too good to be realised in every game, but from time-to-time we might be able to achieve complete domination!

Domination is the dream of every chess player. He would love to be able to play simultaneously in every part of the board and simply be better eve-rywhere. Th is might happen some-times; no counterplay by our oppo-nent — nothing to fear.

Dominated factors can be met in every stage of the game, even pawn-less endgames! We will start with some studies of the famous chess composer Genrikh Kasparyan, but fi rstly I feel that we should know a bit more about him.

Genrikh Kasparyan (27 February 1910 in Tbilisi — 27 December 1995 in Yerevan) is considered to have been one of the greatest composers of chess endgame studies.

Outside Armenia, he is better known by the Russian version of his name


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Genrikh Moiseyevich Kasparyan or Kasparian.

Genrikh Kasparyan became a na-tional master in 1936 and an interna-tional master in 1950. He was award-ed the titles of International Judge of Chess Compositions in 1956 and International Grandmaster of Chess Composition in 1972, the fi rst com-poser to receive this title from FIDE.

Genrikh Kasparyan was also an ac-tive chess player, winning the Arme-nian championship ten times (from 1934 to 1956, including two ties with future World Champion Tigran Pet-rosian) and the Tifl is championship three times (1931, 1937, and 1945).

He reached the USSR Championship fi nals four times (1931, 1937, 1947 and 1952), but never fi nished higher than tenth place.

Genrikh Kasparyan is best known for his compositions. He started with chess problems, mainly three-movers, but soon discovered that his best fi eld was in endgame studies.

He wrote several books and collec-tions and composed about 600 stud-ies, many on the theme of domina-tion, winning 57 fi rst prizes. He won the USSR Composing Championship several times.

Study 1Kasparian Genrikh 1967

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Th e material is so limited and most players would think that the draw is near. But here the side to move domi-nates the game and it is White’s turn!

1.b2+!Nothing else works. 1.c3+? fails to

impress aft er 1...g7! 2.h3+ h7! (2...g8? 3.g2+-) 3.c3+ g7 4.h2+ g8 5.c4+ f7!= Th e main concept of the queen’s movement is to co-operate with her rook in certain variations.

1...g71...g8 loses to 2.g2+ f7 3.b7+.

2.h2+ g8 3.a2+!White’s queen operates harmoni-

ously from the 2nd rank!

3...f73...f7 4.g2+- is a sad story...

4.g2+! g7 5.d5+ f7Again 5...f7 loses to 6.g2.


strona 22

6.g2+ h7 7.e4+!and White mates!

7...h87...h6 8.e3+ ; 7...f5 8.h4+.

8.e5+ h7 9.h2+ h5+ 10.xh5# 1-0


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Adding an extra rook for both sides makes the right to the fi rst move even more important; domination is in sight...

1.h3+!1.h1+? off ers nothing aft er 1...h7

2.xh7+ (2.d4+ g8 3.g3+ g7=) 2...xh7! (2...xh7? 3.h3+ g6 4.d3+ f5 5.g3+ f6 6.a6+!+-) 3.h3 f2+! 4.g3 f3+=

1...h71...g8 loses to 2.g1! and next

moving the king to the h-fi le!

2.c3+!As in the previous study, the queen

should co-operate with her rook on the same rank, so wrong would be 2.d4+? g8=

2...g82...g7+ loses to 3.xg7+ xg7

4.a7+.

3.g3+ g7 4.b3+! f7 If 4... ff7, then 5.a8+ h7

6.b1++-

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5.a7! xb3Nothing is changed by 5...xg3+

6.xg3++-

6.gxg7+ h8 7.h7+ g8 8.ag7# 1-0

Of course domination is easier when material is increased.


i-Press › 2017-11-11 19:26 › strona 23


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Here the 7th rank domination by the white rooks is rather important. Th e white king is more fl exible and this factor leads to the win.

1.aa7!Full domination!

1...f3+ 2.f2!White must be careful, as wrong

would be 2.f1? h6! 3.b7 f2 4.g7+ h8 5.f7 h1+! 6.g2 f1+ 7.xf1 hxf1 8.b8 xb8 9.xf1=

2...g62...h6 now loses to 3.b7! (3.g7+? h8 4.b7 h2+ 5.e3 e2+ 6.d3 d8+=) 3...h2+ 4.g3! (4.e3? b2! 5.a8 f2=) 4...f2 (4...g2+ 5.h3 f2 6.b8 f1 7.b3+ h8 8.h7#; 4...b2 5.a8) 5.g7+ h8 6.f7!+-

3.b7 g2+ 4.f1!Precise! Again 4.e3? doesn’t help:

4...e2+ 5.d3 b2 6.g7+ h8 7.h7+ g8.

4...f2 Aft er 4...b2 White wins by 5.a8 b1+ 6.f2 b2+ 7.g3! f2 8.xf8+ xf8 9.g2 e8 10.c7.

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5.f7!!Not only the only winning but also

the only not losing move!

5...b8 6.a8!6.c7 f8!

6...xf7 7.xb8 g1+ 8.xf2 b1And now the usual endgame trick:

9.h8! xb7 10.h7+ e6 11.xb7 1-0

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